CRPF Likely To Award The Men Who Had Shown Herculean Restraint While Being Heckled And Assaulted By Locals In Kashmir: Report

Admirable courage.

While the army gets a bum rap for doing its job in one of the most restive states in India, often accused of using excessive force to curb protests, a couple of recent video clips — purportedly shot in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district — shows them exercising admirable restraint in the face of abuse. And now the CRPF is examining the video to find out who the securitymen featured in it are.

The video clips show local youths hitting, kicking and tossing invectives at a passing contingent of fully-armed CRPF men who calmly keeps on walking despite being provoked by slogans of 'India go back'.

Speaking to the Indian Express, CRPF DIG (Srinagar), Sanjay Kumar, said efforts are on to identify the security personnel in the clip. "We have taken up this issue with local police for identifying the protesters who heckled the security personnel. We are also trying to find out the securitymen shown in the video clip. Once the securitymen are identified, I will recommend them for an award for showing restraint."

"Their combat fatigues, weapons which they carried are INSAS rifles and SLRs and therefore there is no doubts that the men were from paramilitary force, probably CRPF. The incident has happened in Budgam area of Srinagar," sources told the paper.

IANS reports: On Thursday re-polling at 38 polling stations in Budgam district in Srinagar parliamentary constituency began. Re-poll was ordered in 38 polling stations of Chadoora, Chrar-e-Sharief, Khansahib and Beerwah tehsils of Budgam district where violence had disrupted the process on Sunday.

Alarmed by the unprecedented violence, the Election Commission decided to defer the south Kashmir Anantnag Parliamentary seat by-poll to May 25. Voting in Anantnag constituency was otherwise scheduled for April 12.

Meanwhile, the CRPF is looking into the authenticity of the clips that also show a youth kicking a helmet a security personnel is holding in his hand and attempting to hit one of them on the shin.

The CRPF IG (Srinagar) Ravideep Sahi told The Indian Express that this was a reality the forces faced in Kashmir every day.